WASHINGTON – Ohio police departments have snagged more than $55.8 million worth of military equipment since 2006 — everything from grenade launchers to body armor to M16 rifles — through a federal program that allows local law enforcement agencies to get surplus equipment from the Pentagon.

The federal program has come under new scrutiny after police in Ferguson, Missouri, responded to the civil unrest there clad in body armor and camouflage, driving armored vehicles and carrying assault rifles. The overwhelming police response further inflamed tensions in the St. Louis suburb over the fatal shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old black man by a Ferguson officer.

It also has sparked a national debate about the militarization of local police, with a particular focus on the merits of the Pentagon program. Supporters say the equipment is vital for strapped local agencies that need to be prepared for dicey situations — including possible terrorist attacks — while critics say local law enforcement officials now look more like they're prepared for combat in Iraq than for patrolling local communities.

One thing is certain: Police agencies in the region have taken full advantage of the Pentagon initiative.

Since September, 36 Ohio law enforcement agencies have received Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles typically valued at $733,000 each. The agencies had to meet certain criteria before the Defense Logistics Agency approved an MRAP, including justification of use, such as for active shooters and drug interdiction, as well as the ability to secure and maintain the vehicle, a DLA spokeswomen said.

As with all equipment dispersed through the program, each individual agency is responsible for training its personnel in the proper use, maintenance and repair of the MRAPs.

Law enforcement in Richland County generally have been grabbing rifles and pistols when checking out military surplus. Since 2006, law enforcement has picked up 52 M16 rifles, 15 M14 rifles and 28 pistols. The Plymouth Police Department also got a $41,253 utility truck in 2012, according to Ohio Department of Public Safety records.

Ohio ranked 11th in the nation for the value of military equipment that local sheriffs and police officers have received from the Pentagon — $40.3 million between 2006 and April, according to a Gannett Washington Bureau analysis of Department of Defense data. Florida topped the list with nearly $252.6 million worth of military goods from the Department of Defense.

"One of the most alarming trends we've seen has been the militarization of American policing," said Tim Lynch, director of a criminal justice project at the Libertarian Cato Institute. He said paramilitary units — like SWAT teams — were initially only in big cities, but now they're in small towns across America.

"And they are not just being used for extraordinary situations, as they were in the beginning," he said, citing, for example, a hostage standoff. "Nowadays, they are called out for routine policing."

Mansfield police Assistant Chief Keith Porch defended the use of such equipment, particularly in SWAT situations or riot patrol.

"You have to equip your officers so that they can do the job safely," Porch said. "If any critics would like to stand in the middle of the street and allow somebody to throw rocks and Molotov cocktails at them, I would welcome their opinion afterward for how they feel."

Since the Pentagon program went into effect in 2006, Porch said the Mansfield Police Department has received only ceremonial rifles for the Honor Guard.

Through two other programs, Mansfield police have received night-vision equipment for the Allied Special Operations Response Team and M-16s.

Mansfield also received an armored vehicle for ASORT after Officer Brian Evans was killed in the line of duty in 2007.

Congress first created the program in 1990, authorizing the Department of Defense to send "excess" equipment to state and local law enforcement agencies for counter-narcotics efforts. Lawmakers expanded the program in 1997, allowing the equipment to be sent to law enforcement agencies for other purposes.

On its website, the Defense Logistics Agency, the Pentagon branch that oversees the program, says local police use the equipment for everything from drug interdiction to patrolling the streets. It also fills more mundane needs, "such as file cabinets, copiers and fax machines" that local sheriffs might not otherwise be able to afford, the DLA website says.

Since 1997, the program has provided $5.1 billion of equipment to local law enforcement agencies around the country, usually at little or no cost.

Other supporters say the military equipment is useful as police confront dangerous situations — such as entering a drug house.